From kitchen chairs to bed frames; bedding, and even their famous Swedish meatballs.
You can order practically anything from IKEA, even individual spare product parts.
Oh, and did I mention that everything is super easy to assemble?!
IKEA is known for their trendy and affordable furniture and home accessories. Some of the most popular home furnishing products in the world come from IKEA – and they literally have stores all. over. the world.
One of the main characteristics that makes IKEA stand out is their product presentation. Items aren’t just laid out for the buyer. No no! They pre-assemble rooms so that you can picture their products in your own space.
Well, that or play “house” on a Saturday afternoon…
“The store layout turns retail into retail therapy.”
Catherine Clifford 2
But before we dive into their brand’s strategies, I think it’s worth getting to know IKEA and how they came to be the fun and quirky brand that we now recognize them as…
The Birth of IKEA
The year was 1943. A bottle of coca cola cost 5 cents; Jean Bartel was Miss America, and Times Magazine named George Marshall ‘Man of the Year.’ 5
Meanwhile, in Älmhult, Sweden, 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad was doing so well in school, his parents rewarded him with a small amount of money. 5 (Ugh – Love parents!)
But instead of spending it, young Kamprad decided to open a mail-order catalogue in which he sold Christmas cards and pens. He named it IKEA. 5
It wasn’t until 1948 that Kamprad started producing furniture. 5
Successful? Yes. And his Swedish competitors knew it.
Feeling threatened by the young entrepreneur, they did anything they could to hinder his business opportunities. 5 To make up for his potential lost business, young Kamprad published his first IKEA catalogue, (while also looking for collaborations abroad.) 5
IKEA’s first showroom was launched in 1953. 5 The idea was to let customers see the catalogue products before purchasing them. But perhaps even more important… this gave Kamprad the opportunity to meet his customers and learn from them.
IKEA finally opened their first store outside of Sweden in 1963, in Norway. A few years after, their flagship store was opened just outside of Stockholm. It was the largest furniture store in Northern Europe at the time. 5
Sadly, in the fall of 1970, the once-beautiful flagship IKEA – inspired by the Guggenheim Museum in New York, caught fire. A self-service area was opened in response for customers and what do you know, it was a total success. 5 So much so, that when the store re-opened in 1971, IKEA products continued to be produced in the same fashion: they were made to be picked up in the self-service area, driven home and assembled by the customer. 5
This is IKEA as we know it today. The constant innovation and originality really are what sets it apart from the other furniture companies.
IKEA’s online presence uses the same customer-centric approach.
IKEA Place, for example, is an augmented reality (AR) app that allows users to try out various furniture models in their own home. It’s basically like going to IKEA, except without actually leaving your home.
Successful Campaigning
2013 was a hard year for IKEA. The company’s growth was declining, and their competition was quickly emerging.
The inspiration behind the Wonderful Everyday Campaign was the determination to reverse the decline and re-establish themselves as a leader in the industry.
They aimed to highlight the little things in our everyday world that we tend to overlook and bring importance to everyday – whether that means giving you a better night’s sleep or clever storage solutions. 4
“Beds”
In light of The Wonderful Everyday campaign, IKEA launched “Beds.” The 2014 commercial showed a young woman “falling through the sky onto different floating beds of all shapes and sizes before settling down for a blissful night’s sleep in her own bedroom.” 1
The commercial was creative and memorable; emotional and relatable. It tapped into the universal desire for comfort and happiness, and the frustration of sleeping on an uncomfortable bed. 2
Both informative and persuasive, the commercial showcased the variety, as well as the quality of IKEA’s beds. It was consistent and recognizable, as it followed the theme of “The Wonderful Everyday” campaign, which aimed to show how IKEA can transform everyday spaces and moments into something more meaningful and enjoyable. 2
What makes IKEA so Successful?
IKEA’s campaigns are successful because they listen and respond to their audiences’ needs and expectations through the content they create.
“The IKEA team constantly keeps learning and carefully deploys its strategies in such a way that it drives profit, but, at the same time, it retains its brand value.”
My PM Interview 6
Their consistent brand identity has IKEA ranking among some of the most iconic companies in recent history.
So, when it comes to launching your marketing campaign, or maybe even re-designing your image… here’s what you should learn from IKEA:
- Keep it consistent.
- Keep it fresh.
- Don’t stop re-inventing your wheel.
References
1 – Behind The Scenes with Ikea: Beds. (n.d.). Shots. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.shots.net/news/view/84612-behind-the-scenes-with-ikea-beds
2 – Clifford, C. (2019, October 5). Meatballs and DIY bookcases: The psychology behind Ikea’s iconic success. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/05/psychology-behind-ikeas-huge-success.html
3 – Hummel, J., III. (2021, December 14). 1943 Pop Culture History, Trivia and Fun Facts. Pop Culture | History | Facts | Trivia. https://popculturemadness.com/PCM/1943/1943-pop-culture-history-trivia-fun-facts/
4 – IKEA “The Wonderful Everyday” by Mother London. (n.d.). Creativebrief. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.creativebrief.com/agency/mother-london/case-studies/ikea-the-wonderful-everyday
5 – Inter IKEA Systems B.V. (2023). https://ikeamuseum.com/en/explore/the-story-of-ikea/the-birth-of-ikea/
6 – My PM Interview. (2021, December 7). Business Case Study: IKEA’s Billion $ Pricing Strategy. My PM Interview. https://www.mypminterview.com/p/case-study-ikea-effect-pricing-strategy
7 – The history of the IKEA brand at a glance. (n.d.). About IKEA. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://about.ikea.com/en/about-us/history-of-ikea/milestones-of-ikea
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